By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and DAMIAN J. TROISE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Global financial markets have been turned upside down this year by President Donald Trump’s burgeoning trade war. Markets are not in full panic, but the double-digit declines in major U.S. stock indexes are testing nerves.

U.S. markets had been on a two-year tear coming into 2025, though many believed that stock prices had become overinflated. Trump’s trade war pushed that sentiment into hyperdrive. The S&P 500 has tumbled 13%, and U.S. markets are being outpaced in Europe, Asia, and just about everywhere else.

FILE – An American flag is displayed on the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Trading in traditional “safe havens” like U.S. Treasurys and the dollar has become erratic and unpredictable. On Monday, the dollar struck a three-year low and U.S. Treasury yields have been soaring. Typically, yields would fall as investors seek a safe place to park their money. U.S. Treasurys no longer appear to provide the shelter they once did.

Only gold, a commodity traded internationally, has maintained its reputation as a safe zone. The price of gold is hitting one record high after another.

Here’s a roundup of what is happening in various segments of the financial market:

Stocks

U.S. stocks have been losing ground in a sharp reversal after two years of stellar gains.

The S&P 500 index, which is considered a benchmark for the broader market’s health, is down more than 13% in 2025. It gained more than 20% in both 2023 and 2024.

The benchmark index is already in “correction,” having fallen more than 10% from the record it set in February. There have been only five weeks in which it’s ended in positive territory this year and with Monday’s decline it’s moving closer to bear market territory, or a 20% drop from recent highs.

It’s worse on the growth-focused Nasdaq composite, which has plunged 19%.

Overseas markets have largely performed much better than their U.S. counterparts.

Bonds

Treasurys, typically considered a less risky area of the market, have been volatile throughout the year.

The 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates and other loans, was as high as 4.80% in January but then fell until Trump announced the broad details of his tariff policy in early April. Yields then began to spike this month. The recent jump in bond yields, which happens when bond prices fall, reflects rising anxiety about inflation and a potential recession.

Treasury bonds are essentially IOUs from the U.S. government and they’re how Washington pays its bills. Bond prices typically move in the opposite direction of stock prices, but prices for both have fallen in tandem. That raises more significant concerns, namely a loss of faith in the U.S. as a safe place to invest.

Gold

In all of the economic uncertainty, gold is soaring — setting record after record in 2025.

New York spot gold hit another all-time high Thursday, closing at about $3,343 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — per FactSet. The price is up nearly 27% this year.

Gold futures rose to more than $3,432 Monday.

Interest in gold spikes in times of uncertainty as investors seek a safe place for their money, although there can still be some volatility. The price of spot gold fell for three straight trading days following Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, for example, but soon rebounded overall.

Foreign Exchange

The U.S. dollar, the world’s reserve currency, is falling under the weight of uncertainty over tariffs, inflation and the direction of the U.S. economy.

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The U.S. dollar is down a steep 9% for the year when measured against a basket of other currencies, including the euro, Japanese yen, Canadian Dollar and Swiss franc.

The dollar began to erode almost immediately in 2025, but those losses have accelerated over the past two months. A weakened dollar means it is more difficult for the U.S. government, businesses and consumers to borrow money at lower rates. It also means less purchasing power for U.S. consumers and the potential for stunted economic growth.

Oil

There is good news and bad news about energy prices. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. on Monday was $3.15, down sharply from $3.67 at this time last year. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that energy prices fall when people start anticipating an economic slowdown. Factories produce less, families call off vacations and businesses cut travel expenses.

Oil prices hit a four-year low this month with anxiety over the impact of tariffs on global economic growth sinking in.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, stood at around $63 per barrel as of midday Monday. That’s down nearly 14% year to date. And Brent crude, the European standard, was just above $66 — down nearly 13% since the start of 2025.

Economists are warning that the steep tariffs Trump is pursuing could cause a recession, which could carry significant implications for the supply chain and jobs in the energy sector.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has continued to undulate.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been on a rollercoaster since the start of the year — with the volatile asset climbing to more than $109,000 ahead of Trump’s inauguration in January, only to dip under $75,000 amid wider market sell-offs this month. As of midday Monday, bitcoin’s going price was above $88,000, per CoinMarketCap.

That’s more than $6,000 lower than what bitcoin was trading at the start of 2025 — but still significantly higher than in recent years. At this time last year, bitcoin traded around $65,000. And in April 2023, months after the November 2022 collapse of FTX crushed crypto, the digital asset went for under $30,000.

Trump, once a crypto skeptic, became a major promoter of the industry throughout his campaign — and last month, he signed an executive order establishing a government reserve of bitcoin.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin testified Monday at a defamation trial that an editorial about gun control in The New York Times in 2017 was devastating and “kicked the oomph” out of her.

The former Republican candidate for vice president answered questions in Manhattan federal court at a trial of her libel claims against the newspaper. She seeks unspecified damages.

“This was the gamechanger,” Palin said of the effect on her life after the newspaper in June 2017 published an editorial about gun control. “I felt defenseless. It just kicked the oomph right out of you.”

The editorial was created after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a congressional baseball team practice in Washington.

In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

In a correction published less than a day later, the Times said the editorial had “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting” and had “incorrectly described” the map.

But Palin said the correction didn’t name her or restore her reputation, leaving it hard to overcome “when the loudest voice in the room, the most credible, biggest publication, was making things up about me.”

Last week, former Times editorial page editor James Bennet cried as he apologized to Palin from the witness stand, saying he “blew it” when he inserted the incorrect information in the editorial.

He said he was “really upset, and I still am, obviously.”

In February 2022, a jury found against Palin’s libel claims, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan last year revived the case, citing errors made by the trial judge.

By ANNIE MA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will begin collection next month on student loans that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for potentially millions of borrowers, officials said Monday.

Currently, roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default on their federal student loans.

The Trump administration’s announcement marks an end to a period of leniency that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. No federal student loans have been referred for collection since March 2020, including those in default.

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Beginning May 5, the department will begin involuntary collection through the Treasury Department’s offset program, which withholds payments from the government — including tax refunds, federal salaries and other benefits — from people with past-due debts to the government. After a 30-day notice, the department will also begin garnishing wages for borrowers in default.

Already, many borrowers have been bracing for obligations coming due.

In 2020, the Biden administration paused federal student loan payments and interest accrual as a temporary relief measure for student borrowers. The pause in payments was extended multiple times through 2023, and a final grace period for loan repayments ended in October 2024. That meant tens of millions of Americans had to start making payments again.

Borrowers who don’t make payments for nine months go into default, which is reported on their credit scores and can go to collections.

In addition to the borrowers already in default, around another 4 million are between 91 to 180 days late on their loan payments. Less than 40% of all borrowers are current on their student loans, department officials said.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted Monday of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles.

The jury returned its verdict in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of many of the same charges last year. The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an 11-year prison term in June.

The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September 2023. Repeatedly during the trial, prosecutors said they were “partners in crime.”

During a 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, FBI agents found nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stuffed in boots, shoeboxes and jackets. In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible, also an alleged bribe.

Both Nadine and Bob Menendez said they are innocent and never took any bribes.

Initially, they were to be tried together, along with the three businessmen, but Nadine Menendez’s trial was postponed a year ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery.

Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate last August following his conviction. Before the charges were brought he had been chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prosecutors accused Nadine Menendez of starting to facilitating bribes to the senator around the time that they began dating, before they married in the fall of 2020.

At the time, she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after missing nearly $20,000 in mortgage payments, trial testimony showed. A longtime friend, Wael Hana, provided cash to save the home — and prosecutors said that in return, the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met religious requirements.

Nadine Menendez also needed a new car after her old one was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing a street. (She did not face charges in the crash). Prosecutors said a businessman, Jose Uribe, gave her a Mercedes-Benz, and in return Bob Menendez used his clout to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating some of Uribe’s associates.

Prosecutor said more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes, a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors said wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors said Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund.

Nadine Menendez, 58, was described by prosecutors at her trial as crucial to the scheme, enabling the senator to communicate with the businessmen and Egyptian government officials.

Besides his conviction on bribery charges, Bob Menendez also was convicted of acting as an agent for the Egyptian government. Prosecutors said that in return for some of the bribes, he ghostwrote a letter for Egyptian officials to give to his fellow senators to calm their concerns about human rights abuses and encourage them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid.

Nadine Menendez’s lawyer, Barry Coburn, had argued during his closing arguments to the jury that the evidence was insufficient for a conviction.

“These things we’re talking about here are unproven,” he said.

He said the dealings the senator had with the businessmen were just what a politician is supposed to do for his constituents.

In a rebuttal argument , Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal urged the jury to convict Nadine Menendez, calling the evidence against her “consistent and overwhelming.”

Uribe pleaded guilty and testified against the others. Hana and Dabies were convicted along with the senator. Hana has been sentenced to eight years in prison while Daibes got seven years behind bars.