TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

Why are stocks in 'correction' and not a bear market?

President Donald Trump's tariff-driven trade wars are taking a toll on stocks. The S&P has fallen more than 10% from its recent high, into what's known as "correction" territory. Is a bear market next?

Corrections are "relatively rare yet symbolically worrisome milestones for the markets," said The New York Times. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 have also fallen into correction territory. The turmoil is a "reflection of the uncertainty surrounding Trump's policies" and worries that consumers and businesses are pulling back.

But this doesn't look to be the start of a bear market, said Bloomberg. A bear market is defined as a drop of 20% or more from the recent high. The drop in stock prices will probably provoke a "flip in trade and monetary policy," said Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett.

What did the commentators say?
Corrections can be a good thing. Market pros see them as "potentially healthy wipeouts of overdone euphoria," said Stan Choe at The Associated Press. The S&P had seen two straight years of growth of more than 20%, with stock prices rising "faster than corporate profits."

The latest correction may simply be "culling too-high enthusiasm among day traders," said Choe. Corrections always carry a "larger fear" that a bear market is in the making, however. While the economy seems "relatively solid at the moment," its future "looks cloudier than usual given all the unknowns."

Investors "spent last year wish-casting about Trump's agenda," Catherine Rampell said at The Washington Post. They assumed he would implement policies they favor, like tax cuts and deregulation, while pulling back from his promises to implement tariffs and reduce the workforce with mass deportations. But Trump really meant to do what he said he would do. "Markets are only figuring it out now?"

What next?
"Nobody can say for sure when the sell-off will end," said MarketWatch. It can be tough to tell if the correction is starting to "snowball" into a bear market. But three bear markets within a decade would be an "extremely rare occurrence." The last time that happened was the 1960s. There have already been two bear markets this decade, the first when the Covid-19 pandemic crashed the markets in 2020 and again when inflation started to spike in 2022. Investors will be keeping an "eye on the upcoming economic data" to see what happens next.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

'I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.'

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking about American hunting influencer Sam Jones, whose viral video of her taking a wild baby wombat from its distressed mother in the outback, should try it with animals that "can actually fight back." While her visa was under review, Jones left Australia on her own accord this morning.

Statistic of the day

59%: The percentage of adults worldwide who are expected to be overweight by 2050, according to a study in the Lancet journal. This will account for about 3.8 billion people. At least 31% of children, approximately 746 million people, are predicted to carry excess weight by that year.

the explainer

The world's youngest leaders

The political leaders of the U.S., the U.K. and Russia are 78, 62 and 72 years old, respectively, but the trio are bucking a global trend of younger politicians taking office. "Across continents," said the Times of India, a "fresh wave" of youthful leadership is "surging" and "defying stereotypes" while "injecting new energy" into the political scene. Here are five leading the way.

Kristrún Frostadóttir, 36
Frostadóttir (pictured above) became Iceland's youngest-ever leader and the world's youngest-serving head of government last year. Her election also marked the first time her country had a woman prime minister and woman president, Halla Tómasdóttir, at the same time.

Ibrahim Traoré, 36
After seizing power in a September 2022 coup d'état that ousted his fellow military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, Traoré has been the interim leader of Burkina Faso. "I know I'm younger than most of you here," he said to government officials as he took office.

Daniel Noboa, 37
When he took office at the age of 35, Noboa became the second-youngest president in Ecuador's history and the youngest to be elected. Noboa's 2023 election was a "triumph for the youngest," said a 25-year-old supporter to Al Jazeera.

Milojko Spajić, 37
The Montenegrin prime minister took office in October 2023, having entered politics as minister of finance after the 2020 election. The focus of his campaign to become PM was a promise to raise the minimum wage and increase minimum pensions.

Gabriel Boric, 39
A former student protest leader, Boric became Chile's youngest-ever president at the age of 35 in December 2021, after he defeated a far-right candidate. Boric was seen as a youthful modernizer, winning on a "promise to turn Chile into a greener, more egalitarian 'welfare state,'" said Agence France-Presse.

The youngest leaders
Jean-Claude Duvalier was just 19 when he became president of Haiti in 1971. The youngest president in American history is Theodore Roosevelt, who was thrust into the hot seat in 1909 at the comparatively ancient age of 42.

Good day 🖼️

… for nostalgia. Being prone to reminiscing is good for your health, according to a new study by academics from Buffalo, New York, and Kyoto, Japan. The survey of 1,500 people in the U.S. and Europe found those who look back are more motivated to maintain social networks, which in turn can improve well-being and reduce the risk of depression.

Bad day ⛷️

… for sportsmanship. The Norwegian Ski Federation has suspended three staff members linked to a cheating scandal. The suits of two ski jumpers, one of whom placed second, were manipulated before the men's large hill event at the Nordic World Ski Championships, leading to their disqualification. Their coach, assistant coach and equipment manager were also suspended.

Puzzles

Daily crossword

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The Week recommends

Concert tours to see this spring

The chills of winter are nearly over, with the calendar turning to spring and the snow melting. As the weather begins to warm, you can get back into the swing of live music with a series of concert tours from some big-name artists.

Sabrina Carpenter
Carpenter has been on a stratospheric rise in the past few years, and her "Short n' Sweet" tour will be in support of her sixth LP by the same name, featuring her hit singles "Espresso" and "Please Please Please." The tour will run the majority of the year and feature 38 shows in cities across Europe, Scandinavia and the U.S., with the latter set to feature an additional North American leg. (through November)

Kendrick Lamar and SZA
Fresh off his Super Bowl halftime extravaganza, Lamar is still "Not Like Us," as the acclaimed rapper and musician will be headlining his "Grand National" tour from spring through the summer. Lamar will be joined onstage by R&B star SZA, and the tour will be one of his biggest yet. It will feature nearly 40 shows in 31 cities across the U.S., Europe and Scandinavia. (through August)

Ed Sheeran
Sheeran's "+–=÷\00d7 (Mathematics)" tour is the singer's fourth of his career and comes in support of a pair of his albums: 2021's "=" and 2023's "-." Sheeran has been touring throughout the world over the past few years. Beginning in April, the tour will take him to 16 cities in 12 countries throughout Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. (through September)

Poll watch

Over a third of Americans (36%) think 2025 will be one of the worst years in U.S. history, according to a YouGov survey. The poll of 1,124 adults also found that 32% believe the next 10 years will be worse for the country than the prior 10 years.

INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Violence signals time is short to build a united Syria'
John Sawers at the Financial Times
Syria is "struggling to emerge from the shadows of the Assad dictatorship," and "violence this month in the coastal cities is a worrying sign that the country could splinter," says John Sawers. There had been a "tense calm after the collapse of the old regime," but "hatred of those responsible for the torture and mass killings under the old regime was still bubbling." Trying to "reestablish autocratic power in such a diverse country is a recipe for violent resistance."

'After a rare execution by firing squad, a fresh call to abolish the death penalty'
The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board
It's "understandable that most Americans paid little attention to a rare execution by firing squad that took place in South Carolina last week," says The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board. But it's "clearer now than ever before that the death penalty is an unjust form of punishment that provides no discernible deterrent to crime." As "retribution, the death penalty may have merit, but retribution isn't the same as justice." It would be "even better to end the death penalty."

'Can the free press be saved?'
Katrina vanden Heuvel at The Guardian
Americans "now find ourselves trapped in an information environment more tightly controlled than ever by a handful of oligarchs," says Katrina vanden Heuvel. Media has "long faced dwindling audiences and, as a result, relied more and more on corporate benefactors." These "essential institutions are stuck carrying water for the billionaire class." The "task of rebuilding truly independent news outlets, then, falls to journalists, readers and any concerned citizens who recognize how imperiled our free press has become."

WORD OF THE DAY

Canadiano

As in, "I'll have a Canadiano with two sugars, please." Several Canadian coffee shops have embraced a patriotic alternative to the Americano as part of a wider national movement to boycott U.S. goods and "buy Canadian" in response to tariffs levied by their southern neighbor.

Trump military makeover: fewer rules, more violence