Finance
Federal Reserve Approves Capital One–Discover Merger
The Federal Reserve has approved a proposed merger of Capital One and Discover. The transaction, which was only waiting for approval from regulators, is expected to close on May 18th for 35 billion dollars. Interim President and CEO of Discover, Michael Shepherd, says the merger will increase competition and allow Capital One and Discover to offer a wider range of products to their customers. Capital One says this is part of their plan to advance economic opportunity in America.
The Board of Regulators at the Fed also made an agreement with Discover and gave them a 100 million dollar fine for charging customers too much in fees between 2007 and 2023. The Board says Discover has stopped doing that and is paying the money back to customers affected.
S&P Global Cuts Growth Forecast
S&P Global has lowered its global GDP growth forecast for 2025 from 2.5% to 2.2%. This move comes as rising inflation and concerns over global trade continue to put pressure on the world economy.
This represents the weakest projected growth since the 2008 financial crisis — not counting the pandemic years.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 still hasn't bounced back from the losses it took earlier this month. Overall, the index remains lower than where it's been over the past year — and since Inauguration Day.
Currency Exchange Rates and Purchasing Power
And let's have a look at the currency rate. The dollar is trading at 142 yen, 79 British pence, and 88 euro cents. What does that mean? Well part of it comes down to the dollar's purchasing power. To put this into perspective to how that affects prices worldwide, let's look at cheeseburger prices. A double cheeseburger at McDonald's costs 4 dollars and 19 cents here. In Japan, it's priced at 450 yen which is about 3 dollars and 16 cents. Turning to the UK, it'll sell for 2 pounds and 29 pence, which is roughly 2 dollars 90 cents. This method isn't perfect and oversimplifies a lot about the topic, but if you're interested in learning more, visit Investopedia.
Against the euro, pound, and yen, the dollar is down considerably this month, but that's not the case for the Chinese yuan. In China, the value of the dollar is up.
Stock Market Snapshot
Coca-Cola, Proctor and Gamble, Pepsi, and Apple are on the rebound today, while Amazon, Samsung, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Tesla stock are all down.
Tech
Nintendo Switch 2 preorders announced
The Nintendo Switch 2 preorder dates have been announced after initially being set back by uncertainty over President Trump’s tariffs. Preorders will begin on April 24th, at the same price announced at the Switch 2 presentation. With that said, accessories for the Switch 2 will go up in price because of those tariffs we mentioned. Nintendo also noted that price changes could continue in the future depending on the market condition.
By the way, GameStop is running a promotion, where if you trade in your old Switch you can get money towards your Switch 2 reservation. The deal, which is valid through April 30th, will give you 175 dollars if you trade a Switch OLED, 125 for a standard Switch, and 100 dollars for a Switch Lite.
4chan remains offline following breach
4chan, the infamous internet forum, is still down today after being supposedly hacked, which resulted in the site’s moderation team and registered users having their information leaked. Dot gov emails were apparently found among those leaked emails. It all happened once a hacker gained access to 4chan’s PHP server.
NVIDIA blocked from exporting chips to China
The US government reportedly told NVIDIA to stop sending H20 computer chips to China until they got a permit. The government noted that this requirement will be in effect for a very long time. NVIDIA says it’ll cost them 5.5 billion dollars.
We will have more tech news as we get it. Stay locked in to our social media to get the latest news and insight.
Entertainment
Ryan Gosling to star in new Star Wars film
Ryan Gosling is set to star in a new Star Wars movie called Star Wars: Star Fighter, which will be directed by Shawn Levy, who directed Deadpool and Wolverine. The movie will be released in two years.
Gregg Popovich hospitalized after fainting
TMZ is reporting that Gregg Popovich, the president of the San Antonio Spurs, was rushed to hospital last night after fainting at a steakhouse in San Antonio. Last November, he suffered a mild stroke, which caused him to miss the rest of this NBA season.
Gawr Gura announces departure from Hololive
Gawr Gura, one of Hololive’s most popular English VTubers, says she's leaving in a deeply emotional video posted to YouTube. Her gen mates, as well as the VTuber community as a whole, have come together in her support.