Good morning. I hope you’re all having a wonderful day and I wish you a happy Valentine’s Day! Thought I would remind you just in case you forgot to get flowers for your S/O (you’re welcome). Now, sit back and enjoy today’s edition because it was made with an extra splash of love 🥰

Trade

Trump announces tariffs on steel and aluminum

What else would you do on your plane ride to the Super Bowl? Yesterday, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports to the US, a plan that is a part of the administration’s broader economic strategy.

Heavy metal

Imports of the two metals were worth over $50 billion last year and are an attempt to boost American manufacturing. Steel production in the US declined by 2.4% in 2024, according to the World Steel Association.

• Canada and Mexico, followed by Brazil, are the top three exporters of aluminum and steel to the US.

  • Canada, however, is by far the largest, with its import value of the two metals almost doubling Mexico’s.

Why does this matter? While the new tariffs may give an edge to American metal production, they could force businesses that rely on the metals (like the construction and auto industries) to raise prices or cut costs elsewhere, which usually ends in an increase in everyday prices for consumers.

Nerves of steel

Just last week, the US paused the sweeping 25% blanket tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico after negotiations with the two countries led to agreements to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the US.

• Shortly after, all Chinese imports were subject to a 10% tax, which led to this week's retaliatory tariffs by China on a few US imports.

Now, the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum are a reflection of Trump’s first term: Trump imposed a 10% tax on aluminum and a 25% tariff on steel in 2018, stating that he aimed to increase domestic production by making foreign material more expensive for domestic buyers. But how did it work out the first time?

• Demand for US steel and aluminum producers shot up exponentially, however, it hurt industries that rely on the metals.

  • Prices increased, which ultimately led to a downturn in production, according to a report by the US International Trade Commission.

• Eventually, the US negotiated deals with several suppliers, including Mexico, Canada, Australia, and the EU.

Market match: Predictably, after the president’s announcement that the tariffs would be imposed, American metal producers like Cleveland-Cliffs and Century Aluminum soared an astounding 17% and 10%, respectively, while the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso fell.

Money

Will the US finally get rid of the penny?

Alas, we are one step closer to getting rid of the random change in our car’s center console. President Donald Trump directed the Treasury Department Tuesday to stop minting new pennies, citing the high cost of producing the one-cent coin.

The order is part of the administration’s sweeping effort to reduce wasteful government spending and maximize federal efficiency and productivity through the DOGE Agenda.

Does it make cents?

The penny is a monetary American staple often confined to couch cushions and random change containers. Many don’t seem to have a use for the coin and arguments for its retirement continually surface, yet the penny has continued to persevere.

While it would be sad never to see Lincoln’s right cheekbone again, it costs a chunk of change to keep the penny in circulation:

• Each penny costs around 3.69 cents to make, something Trump noted in his statement.

• The US produced almost 3.2 billion pennies last year, which cost taxpayers $85.3 million (not accounting for the value of pennies themselves).

As centuries of inflation have essentially made the coin useless, many have discussed the idea of ridding ourselves of the penny for years. Most recently has been the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, but others, like influential economists, US Mint officials, lawmakers, and even President Obama have also advocated for its retirement.

Can we actually get rid of it? It’s a toss-up. Federal law gives the Treasury Secretary some say in minting coins, but Congress has constitutional control over coinage and currency regulation, so it's unclear if Trump could stop penny production entirely.

Pinching pennies

Although there are plenty of advocates for the coin’s demise, saying its discontinuation would save millions of dollars a year and lessen environmental waste, critics warn of possible economic disruptions like price rounding and consumer losses.

• If the penny is abolished, it would cause companies to round prices to the closest nickel and hasten the transition to digital payments.

  • This could then disproportionally benefit firms like Visa and Mastercard, according to Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at TD Cowen.

Fun fact: The nickel also costs more to make than it is worth; last year, it cost $17.7 million to produce each coin, at around 14 cents per nickel.

Science

New study suggests the Earth’s core is changing shape

Like that one college buddy you don’t talk to anymore, the Earth’s core is less solid than previously thought. According to a new study, the Earth's inner core is altering both its shape and rotational speed, a finding that could provide insight into our planet’s greatest secrets.

Unexpected discovery

The crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core are the four layers that makeup Earth. Because of the intense pressure in Earth's center, the mysterious inner core—which is 4,000 miles from the surface—was long believed to be solid.

Scientists’ new discovery, however, resolves the lengthy dispute regarding what happens at the heart of the planet:

• According to the study (see here), the inner core has a soft, malleable outer layer and its shape has been changing over the last two decades.

  • The study also supported earlier findings that the inner core rotates at a completely different speed compared to other areas of the Earth.

  • The findings suggest it’s now revolving backward, relative to the rest of the planet.

Researchers made the discovery using data from earthquakes that were powerful enough to reach the center of the Earth, which acted almost as an ultrasound, letting scientists see our planet’s innermost layers.

It could affect time: Since the core was found to be slowing its speed since 2010 and is now revolving backward, it may change the duration of a day by a fraction of a second, according to scientists.

Grab Bag

Meta announces “low-performance layoffs” amid AI push

Hope no Meta employees took a vacation in the last quarter. At the start of the week, Meta announced a round of layoffs, labeled as “performance terminations”, that affected nearly 4,000 employees, or about 5% of its staff.

Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a warning that the layoffs were coming to a head and that low-performing workers would be phased out. Now that thousands of employees have been shown the door, the company is expediting its hiring of AI workers.

All aboard AI

Meta wants to batten down the hatches, with Zuckerberg saying that “2025 would be an intense year,” and that they needed to “raise the bar”. The company wants to contend with others leading in the generative AI race, but it needs to cut corners somewhere to do so.

While machine-learning engineers climb aboard the Meta ship, the company joins many others trying to make themselves leaner to make room for AI, like Microsoft and Amazon. But they aren’t alone:

• Workday, in an attempt to embrace AI, laid off 1,750 employees, or about 8.5% of its workforce last week.

• According to reports, Salesforce is expanding the number of salespeople it hires for its AI products while simultaneously shaving off over 1,000 employees.

• Google is also joining the fray and preparing to make cuts that prioritize AI by giving buyouts to staff members who work on certain teams.

Raise the sails: This year, the combined capital expenditures of Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta for artificial intelligence are expected to surpass $320 billion.

The Gulf of America has officially arrived on Apple

Somehow, it will end up as the 51st state. Following President Donald Trump's January executive order, the Gulf of Mexico will now be referred to as the Gulf of America on Apple Maps.

New name tag

The tech giant has joined Google in implementing the new name, which is only visible to US users, while Mexican users will still see the Gulf of Mexico and other nations will see both names.

• Microsoft, which owns Bing Maps, also said it would update its system to reflect the change as it is “committed to providing users with accurate and up-to-date information.”

How did the name change happen? The change came shortly after the Trump administration updated the US Board on Geographic Names, which as it sounds, decides on the names of places. The board was established in 1890 and votes on hundreds of name conventions each year.

• Through the use of executive power, Trump was able to direct the agency to update the name.

• However, since the president's order only applies to federal agencies, Apple was not legally obligated to implement the modification.

Name noted: The Associated Press, an American news agency, stated it will refer to the Gulf of Mexico “by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.”

Fast Facts

Familiar Food: In honor of Valentine’s Day, the San Antonio Zoo allows you to name a cockroach, rodent, or vegetable after your ex that’ll then be fed to its animals in exchange for a donation.

Tasty Treat: Keeping the same energy, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will allow you to name a superworm after a former partner (that will be fed to the sloth bears) for a $15 fee.

Top Dog: At the 2025 Westminster Kennel Club dog competition, the second-longest running athletic event in the United States, Monty, a huge schnauzer, won Best in Show on Wednesday.

Flu Fever: According to data from the CDC, which estimates that at least 24 million cases of influenza (and 13,000 deaths) have occurred this winter season, the percentage of medical visits owing to flu-like symptoms last week was higher than the peak of any flu season since 2010.

Viewership Victory: The 2025 Super Bowl set a new viewership record with an average of 126 million viewers on TV and streaming, a 2% increase over the previous year's game.