Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the Trump administration is focused on preventing a financial crisis that could be the result of massive government spending over the past few years.

“What I could guarantee is we would have had a financial crisis. I’ve studied it, I’ve taught it, and if we had kept up at these spending levels that — everything was unsustainable,” Bessent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We are resetting, and we are putting things on a sustainable path.”

President Donald Trump has made getting the government’s fiscal house in order a priority since taking office. He created the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to spearhead job cuts and early retirement incentives across multiple federal agencies.

Still, the U.S. debt and deficit problem worsened during Trump’s first month in office, as the budget shortfall for February passed the $1 trillion mark.

Bessent noted that there are “no guarantees” there won’t be a recession.

The market has been on a tumultuous ride as of late as Trump’s widespread tariffs raised concerns about inflation and economic slowdown. The S&P 500 on Thursday fell into a 10% correction from its February high as volatility spiked.

Bessent believes pullbacks like the one the market is in right now are benign, and Trump’s pro-business policies will boost the market and the economy over the long run.

“I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that corrections are healthy. They’re normal,” he said. “What’s not healthy is straight up, that you get these euphoric markets. That’s how you get a financial crisis. It would have been much healthier if someone had put the brakes on in ’06, ’07. We wouldn’t have had the problems in ’08.”

“I’m not worried about the markets. Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great,” Bessent added. “I say that one week does not the market make.”

Egg prices dropped once again this month as bird flu outbreaks eased and demand fell, with consumers unwilling to shell out for the inflated prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wholesale prices for a dozen eggs now average $4.15, down $2.70 from the week before, the USDA’s Egg Markets Overview from Friday found. In the last week of February, a dozen eggs averaged as high as $8.05.

The reason for the reduced price is two-fold: decreased demand and fewer bird flu outbreaks.

As egg prices shot up, demand for them “sharply” declined over the past week, the department found.

There were also “no significant outbreaks” of the virus in March.

This combination has led to a dip in price, but that dip has not yet been reflected on store shelves, the USDA said.

“As shell eggs are becoming more available, the sense of urgency to cover supply needs has eased and many marketers are finding prices for spot market offerings are adjusting rapidly downward in their favor,” the report said.

It’s not immediately clear if these reduced prices will stick around through Easter and Passover, during both of which eggs feature prominently. Easter is on April 20 and Passover begins on April 12 and ends on April 20.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice said it would be investigating the surge in egg prices, including whether producers conspired to increase prices or hold back supply.

In February, egg prices skyrocketed by 59 percent year-on- year. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump vowed to bring down the price of eggs on “day one” of his second term.

The president maintained in his speech to Congress this month: “We are working hard to get it back down.”

Amid the escalating egg prices, the Trump administration this week reportedly asked Denmark to export eggs. The timing, however, is a bit awkward, seeing as the president has repeatedly demanded the U.S. absorb Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, into the U.S. He’s even threatened economic sanctions unless Denmark hands over control of Greenland.

“They have approached us to ask how much we can deliver,” Danish Eggs sector manager Jørgen Nyberg Larsenhe told Danish trade publication AgriWatch, noting that the U.S. approached other countries too. “They have also written to my colleagues in the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.”

It’s not just Walmart.

The leaders of companies that serve everyone from penny-pinching grocery shoppers to first-class travelers are seeing cracks in demand, a shift after resilient consumers propped up the U.S. economy for years despite prolonged inflation. On top of high interest rates and persistent inflation, CEOs are now grappling with how to handle new hurdles like on-again, off-again tariffs, mass government layoffs and worsening consumer sentiment.

Across earnings calls and investor presentations in recent weeks, retailers and other consumer-facing businesses warned that first-quarter sales were coming in softer than expected and the rest of the year might be tougher than Wall Street thought. Many of the executives blamed unseasonably cool weather and a “dynamic” macroeconomic environment, but the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term have brought new challenges — perhaps none greater than trying to plan a global business at a time when his administration shifts its trade policies by the hour.

Economists largely expect Trump’s new tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico will raise prices for consumers and dampen spending at a time when inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve’s target. In February, consumer confidence — which can help to signal how much shoppers are willing to shell out — saw the biggest drop since 2021. A separate consumer sentiment measure for March also came in worse than expected.

Another sign of weakness has been in air travel. The sector, especially large international airlines, had been a bright spot following the pandemic, with consumers proving again and again that they wouldn’t give up trips even in the face of the biggest jump inflation in more than four decades. This week, however, the CEOs of the four largest U.S. airlines — United, American, Delta and Southwest — said they are seeing a slowdown in demand this quarter. American, Delta and Southwest cut their first-quarter forecasts.

Plus, the strong U.S. job market of recent years is showing early signs of stress as job growth slows and unemployment ticks up.

These trends have thrown cold water on what was a red-hot stock market and sparked new fears about a potential recession, sending the S&P 500 tumbling 10% from its record highs in February, though it had recovered significant ground by Friday afternoon.

Now, as investors and executives grow more worried about the impact tariffs will have on consumer spending and fret about an administration they had high hopes for just a few months ago, even the strongest companies are striking cautious tones as the weaker ones get even louder.

Take Walmart, the retail industry’s de facto leader, which has spent the last year turning an uncertain economy into fuel for growth as it courted higher-income consumers. When Walmart announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings last month, its stock fell after it warned that profit growth would be slower than expected in the year ahead. It was a rare warning sign from a company that tends to thrive in a weaker economy, and an indication that it’s expecting consumers to pull back from higher-margin discretionary goods in favor of essentials like milk and paper towels in the year ahead.

“We don’t want to get out over our skis here. There’s a lot of the year to play out,” Walmart’s finance chief, John David Rainey, told analysts when discussing the company’s outlook. “It’s prudent to have an outlook that is somewhat measured.”

Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines – the most profitable U.S. carrier that has reaped the rewards of big spenders in recent years – struck a similar tone after it slashed its earnings and revenue forecast for the first quarter. In an interview Monday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Bastian said that consumer confidence has weakened and that both leisure and business customers have pulled back on bookings, which led it to cut its guidance.

“Consumers in a discretionary business do not like uncertainty,” said Bastian. “And while we do believe this will be a period of time that we pass through, it is also something that we need to understand and get to calmer waters.”

To be sure, it wasn’t just fewer people booking trips that led the airline to cut its first-quarter forecast. Questions about air safety compounded the problem after two major airline accidents, including Delta’s own crash landing in Toronto, in which no one died.

Beyond Delta, rival United said it will retire 21 aircraft early, a move that aims to cut costs.

“We have also seen weakness in the demand market,” United CEO Scott Kirby said at Tuesday’s JPMorgan airline industry conference. “It started with government. Government is 2% of our business. Government adjacent, all the other consultants and contracts that go along with that are probably another 2% to 3%. That’s running down about 50% right now. So a pretty material impact in the short term.”

The airline has seen some of that dynamic “bleed over” into the domestic leisure market, as well, Kirby added. He said the company is already looking at where it will cut flights, eyeing a big drop in traffic from Canada into the U.S. and in markets that were popular with government workers.

American Airlines cut its first-quarter earnings forecast and said in addition to demand pressures, bookings were hurt after a deadly midair collision of an Army helicopter with one of its regional jets in Washington, D.C., in January.

The company also felt the pullback in government travel and associated trips like those for contractors.

“We know that there’s some follow-on effect in terms of leisure travel associated with that as well,” said CEO Robert Isom.

Airline executives were upbeat about longer-term demand in 2025, however.

Other strong companies, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, E.l.f. Beauty and Abercrombie & Fitch, also issued weak forecasts in recent weeks, though they indicated they were feeling positive about the second half of the year.

“I do think it’s just a bit of an uncertain world out there right now,” Ed Stack, chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods, told CNBC when asked about the company’s guidance. “What’s going to happen from a tariff standpoint? You know, if tariffs are put in place and prices rise the way that they might, what’s going to happen with the consumer?”

Over the last year, companies like United, Walmart and Abercrombie have managed to outperform the S&P 500, even as shoppers reduced discretionary spending, so this change in commentary marks a major shift. It’s a warning sign that shoppers could be starting to crack, and that even excellent execution is no match for tariff-induced price increases after four years of historic inflation.

Meanwhile, the companies that have already spent the last year calling out uncertain consumer dynamics are sounding even more worried.

“Our customers continue to report that their financial situation has worsened over the last year, as they have been negatively impacted by ongoing inflation. Many of our customers report they only have enough money for basic essentials, with some noting that they have had to sacrifice even on the necessities,” the CEO of Dollar General, Todd Vasos, said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday, adding customers are expecting value and convenience “more than ever.” The worsening consumer outlook has compounded the company’s own internal challenges.

“As we enter 2025,” Vasos continued. “We are not anticipating improvement in the macro environment, particularly for our core customer.”

Elsewhere in the retail industry, American Eagle on Tuesday warned that cold weather led to a slower-than-expected start to the first quarter, but said it wasn’t just temperatures. The apparel retailer specifically called out “less robust demand” and said it’s taking steps to reduce expenses and manage inventory as it braces for what’s still to come.

″[Consumers] have the fear of the unknown. Not just tariffs, not just inflation, we see the government cutting people off. They don’t know how that’s going to affect them. They see programs being cut, they don’t know how that’s going to affect them,” said CEO Jay Schottenstein. “And when people don’t know what they don’t know – they get very conservative … it makes everyone a little nervous.”

The “bromance” between United States President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was on full display on Tuesday when the White House South Lawn was transformed into a miniature Tesla showroom.

Musk lined up Tesla cars to showcase the electric car producer’s latest innovations while Trump promised to brand anyone vandalising a Tesla car a “domestic terrorist” following reports of a spate of vandalism and arson attacks on Tesla cars across the country.

Trump, known for his strong stance on domestic manufacturing and business leadership, has given Musk a prominent role in his new administration as leader of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which claims to have uncovered “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse” in the US federal government – claims for which Musk and Trump have yet to show significant evidence.

Meanwhile, Tesla shares, which are listed on the NASDAQ, are floundering. On Monday this week, they plummeted by 15 percent to end the day at $215 – the worst day for the stock since 2020 and its lowest level since Trump won the presidential election in November. The shares bounced back a little after Tuesday’s presidential plug for Tesla cars to $231.83 in the morning, before levelling out at about $235 by the end of the day. On Friday, the shares were were due to open at around $240.

Tesla stock has been in freefall since its heady highs of more than $435 in mid-December, 2024. So why is the car manufacturer doing so poorly when its owner appears to be flying high at the White House?

Why is Tesla’s share price falling?

Despite performing well following the November presidential election in the US, Tesla’s stock was volatile during 2024 overall and has declined sharply since the start of this year. Robert Scott, a specialist in international economics and trade policy, said a fall in the share price was inevitable due to its “extreme overvaluation”.

“Tesla’s stock was highly overvalued, with one of the highest price-to-earnings ratios ever recorded,” Scott told Al Jazeera. This means the price of the stock was very high compared with the profits the company was generating. “This indicates that the stock price was inflated relative to market fundamentals.”

William Lee, chief economist at the Milken Institute, said the fall in the share price has come about as a result of delays to the launch of new Tesla products.

“The new refresh for the Tesla Model Y continues to be delayed, and more importantly, no new models have been introduced,” Lee said.

What has happened to sales of Tesla vehicles?

There has been a marked decrease in sales in Europe and elsewhere. According to data from Business Insider, the business trade news outlet, in February, sales were 76 percent lower in Germany than they were the previous year even though overall sales of electric vehicles were 31 percent higher. Sales in Germany also fell in January following Musk’s endorsement of the far-right AfD party. In Norway, Denmark and Sweden, sales fell 40 percent year on year in February and dropped by 26 percent in France. The company has also been suffering from organised boycott campaigns in the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Spirit Airlines is out of bankruptcy, hitting its target to emerge in the first quarter, after a crippling few years. CEO Ted Christie says the carrier is leaner and ready to take on competitors, including rival Southwest Airlines.

Earlier this week, Southwest shocked customers by announcing it will start charging for checked bags for the first time in its half-century of flying, a huge strategy move for the largest domestic U.S. carrier. (There are some exceptions to Southwest’s new bag rules, which take effect in late May.)

“I think it’s going to be painful for a little bit as they find their footing, and we’re going to take advantage of that,” Spirit’s Christie said in an interview Thursday.

Southwest had been a standout in the U.S. by offering all customers two free checked bags, a perk that has endured recessions, spikes in fuel prices and other crises while most rivals introduced bag fees and raised them every few years.

Spirit Airlines, on the other hand, made a la carte pricing common in the U.S., with fees for seat assignments, checked bags and other add-ons. It’s a strategy most large airlines, except for Southwest, have copied in one form or another.

As Southwest starts charging for bags and introduces its first basic economy class, which doesn’t include a seat assignment or allow free changes, Spirit could possibly win over customers, Christie said.

Southwest said it would get rid of its single-class open seating model last year.

“There at least was an audience of people who were intentionally selecting and flying Southwest because they felt that it was easy. They knew they were going to get two bags,” Christie said. “Now that that’s no longer the case, it’s easy to say that they’re going to widen their aperture and they’re now going to look around.”

Spirit is far smaller than Southwest and even smaller than it was last year, but it competes with the airline in cities like Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee. If customers look on travel sites like Expedia, where Southwest is a new entrant, Spirit’s tickets could be cheaper and appear higher in results, Christie said.

Other airline executives have also said they expect to win over some Southwest customers.

Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday that there are consumers who choose Southwest based on its free bag perk “and now those customers are up for grabs.”

Spirit, for its part, has recently been offering more ticket bundles that include things like seat assignments and luggage.

The carrier is now focused on returning to profitability. It posted a net loss of over $1.2 billion last year, more than double its loss in 2023 as it grappled with grounded jets because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, higher costs, more domestic competition and a failed acquisition by JetBlue Airways.

Spirit has rejected multiple recent merger attempts by fellow budget carrier Frontier Airlines. Christie said Thursday that nothing is “off the table” and that a fifth-largest airline in the U.S. as a low-cost carrier makes sense, but that the airline is focused on stabilizing itself after bankruptcy.

Through its restructuring process, which started in November, Spirit said it reduced its debt by about $795 million. The transaction converted debt into equity for major creditors. The carrier also received a $350 million equity infusion.

Spirit plans to relist its shares on a stock exchange but hasn’t set a date yet.

Gold broke the $3,000 an ounce price threshold for the first time on Friday as investors sparked a rally in the safe-haven asset amid mounting economic uncertainty due to President Donald Trump’s tariff war.

Spot gold prices hit an all-time high of $3,004.86 earlier in Friday’s trading session before dipping back below the $3,000 level as traders took profits.

Gold’s surge above the historic $3,000 milestone was driven by “beleaguered investors seeking the ultimate safe-haven asset given Trump’s tumult on stock markets,” said Tai Won, an independent metals trader.

Traditionally viewed as a safe store of value during geopolitical turmoil, gold bullion has risen nearly 14% so far this year, driven in part by concerns over the impact of Trump’s tariffs and retaliation by trading partners – which have contributed to the recent stock market sell-off.

“Real asset money managers, particularly in the West, needed a strong stock market and economic slowdown scare to return to gold – and that’s happening now,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

Gold prices have also been bolstered by demand from central banks, with China boosting its reserves for the fourth straight month in February.

“Central banks continue record-level gold acquisitions, seeking to diversify away from an increasingly volatile U.S. dollar,” said GoldCore CEO David Russell.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will return to easing its monetary policy in the next few months have also helped gold, as traders expect interest rate cuts to resume in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

“There are good reasons for why investment demand is likely to remain robust… heightened geopolitical and geo-economic risk, higher inflation expectations, potentially lower rates and the uncertainty that markets are feeling,” said Juan Carlos Artigas, global head of research at the World Gold Council.

US stocks slid Thursday and the S&P 500 closed in correction, down more than 10% from its record high in February, as President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on the European Union. The Dow ended the day down by 537 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 fell 1.39% and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.96% lower. The selloff extends a rout in US markets that has been driven by the uncertainty around Trump’s tariff announcements. The Nasdaq entered correction territory last week, and as of Thursday closed down 14.2% from its record high in December. The S&P 500 closed at 5,521.52, down 10.1% from its record high of 6,144.15 on February 19 and notching its first correction in over a year. Correction is a Wall Street term for falling more than 10% from a recent high. The last correction to the S&P 500 occurred in October 2023, when the benchmark index closed down 10.3% from its recent high that July, according to Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. That correction took 24 days to recover from, Turnquist said. Trump on Thursday threatened to impose a 200% tariff on alcoholic beverages from the European Union after the bloc on Wednesday imposed a 50% tariff on US spirits like bourbon. The EU’s tariff on US spirits was in retaliation for Trump’s sweeping 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Cooling inflation data and a slight rebound in tech stocks had helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close higher Wednesday, but they slid Thursday as the trade tensions between Washington and Brussels escalated. Turnquist said drawdowns are “nothing out of the ordinary,” but noted the recent drop in stocks has been “painful” because it’s been just three weeks since the S&P 500 hit a record high on February 19. “In only a few weeks, the broader market has gone from record highs to correction territory,” Turnquist said in a note Thursday. “Tariff uncertainty has captured most of the blame for the selling pressure and is exacerbating economic growth concerns.” The White House doubles down on tariffs Trump indicated Thursday that he is “not going to bend” on the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, vowing that any resulting economic disruption “won’t be very long.” “No, I’m not going to bend at all aluminum or steel or cars. We’re not going to bend. We’ve been ripped off as a country for many, many years,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Markets dipped to their lowest level of the day after Trump’s remarks. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday on CNBC that he is not concerned about “a little bit of volatility over three weeks.” Bessent said the Trump administration is focused on the “real economy” and the outlook for the long term. Stocks initially wavered Thursday morning after the latest producer price index data showed inflation rose 3.2% year-over-year in February, a sharp slowdown from January. That came on the heels of consumer price index data Wednesday that also showed inflation slowed more than expected in February. While the cooling inflation report was reassuring for investors, the budding trade war between the US and its biggest trading partners and allies has sent jitters through US stocks. “Thursday’s inflation data is backward looking, and the real worry is the inflationary effects that may come from tariffs, which is a wildcard for markets and the Federal Reserve,” said Paul Stanley, chief investment officer at Granite Bay Wealth Management. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, surged this week to its highest level since December. “Extreme fear” has been the sentiment driving markets since the end of February, according to CNN’s Fear and Greed Index. “The last month has been a brutal sell-off for tech stocks and the overall market as every day (every hour) there is some newsflow coming out of the Trump White House that is changing the rules of the investing game from tariffs to chips to investments to policy changes among many others,” said Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a note Wednesday. Futures on gold surged to a record high on Thursday, signaling uncertainty about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on economic growth and geopolitical stability. The benchmark S&P 500 is down more than 6% this year, lagging indexes in Europe and Asia.

Months after ditching its open seating policy, Southwest Airlines is ending its most recognizable perks: Free checked baggage. The airline will begin charging for the first and second checked bag beginning on May 28, Southwest announced Tuesday. However, members of its A-List loyalty program, holders of its branded credit card or those traveling on a business fare will be exempt from the fees. “We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” said Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest, in a press release. It’s a seismic shift for the Southwest, which has always offered free checked bags since the airline started about 60 years ago and kept the policy in place when its competitors starting adding and increasing fees. In fact, the carrier has trademarked “bags fly free” slogan and it’s been a key part of its advertising. Jordan told investors on an analyst call last year that it had no plans to start charging for the first two bags being checked. He said the no fees for the first two bags is “a big part of what attracts people to Southwest.” “After fare and schedule, bags fly free is cited as the number one issue in terms of why customers choose Southwest. So, it’s not something under consideration right now,” Jordan said at the time. He also said that there are costs, and not just revenue, that come from charging for bags. It slows the time it takes to load a plane as passengers take more time to look for space in overhead bins for carry-on bags. Also, some bags have to be moved from the cabin to the cargo hold once there is no longer any room available in the overhead bins. However, his view changed after Southwest started selling tickets through third-party websites, like Kayak or Google Flights, which showed customers were choosing price regardless of how generous Southwest’s policies were. Plus, the hiring of new executives from other airlines that already charge for bags “further validates” the change, Jordan said. “All of these initiatives are new to Southwest, but they are not new to the industry,” Jordan said an investor conference Tuesday. He added that the changes “are exactly what our employees want us to do.” Southwest didn’t immediately reveal how much the checked bags will cost. Regardless of the price, it will likely instantly boost its bottom line because Southwest has two to three times as many checked bags as other airlines. Despite not charging for the first two checked bags, Southwest collected $73 million in baggage fees in 2023, and $62 million in the first 9 months of 2024, according to Department of Transportation statistics. However, that is a fraction of the baggage fees collected by other airlines, with American Airlines collecting $1.4 billion in 2023, while United Airlines pulled in $1.2 billion and Delta Air Lines garnering $985 million. “While this could alienate some customers, other major airlines peers have fees today,” wrote Jeff Windau, an analyst at Edward Jones, in a note. “As long as Southwest maintains competitive pricing, we do not envision a significant loss of customers.” Competitors pounced on the news, including Delta CEO Ed Bastian said at an investors conference Tuesday that Southwest’s decision to charge for bags could be a help to its rivals. “Clearly there are some customers who chose them because of that (bags fly free policy),” Bastian said. “Now clearly those customers are up for grabs.” United CEO Scott Kirby also predicted that other airlines, including United, are likely to see gains because of Southwest’s decision, because it was one of the things that made Southwest distinctive, especially among bargain-hunting passengers. “It’ll be good for everyone else,” he said. “It’s the slaying of a sacred cow. I view it as a big deal.” Shares of Southwest (LUV) soared more than 6% in Tuesday trading.

Changes at Southwest

Southwest has introduced a number of changes since Elliott Investment Management took a $1.9 billion stake in the carrier last year. The activist investor called for leadership changes and an operations overhaul to boost profitability. Other hallmarks that Southwest has changed include its cabin. Assigned seating will soon be introduced, as well as premium seats, bringing it in line with traditional carriers. The airline also rolled out red-eye flights. Southwest said customers were clamoring for those changes. When people switch to a competitor from Southwest, the company said the No. 1 reason passengers cite is open seating. But the change will also help the company charge some passengers more for their tickets. The airline has also changed the way it sells tickets. Traditionally it only sold them on Southwest.com, but recently said they would sell them on Expedia in an attempt to attract more customers. Southwest also announced Tuesday it will also start selling “basic economy” fares in May, which are low-priced tickets but with tons of restrictions. Last month, Southwest cut 15% of its corporate workforce, or 1,750 people — the first mass layoffs in the company’s history. The layoffs will save the company $210 million this year and $300 million in 2026. The company started the year with a new chief financial officer, Tom Doxey, who most recently was president of Breeze Airways. Southwest’s previous chief financial officer Tammy Romo and chief administration officer Linda Rutherford will retire from their positions in April.

There may be some cracks forming in the egg market.

For the past several months, consumers have been faced with a hard reality: Fewer eggs at higher prices.

But in the first week of March, prices for wholesale loose eggs fell by $1.20, averaging about $6.85 a dozen nationally, down 15% from the week before, the Department of Agriculture said in its latest market report. That’s what retailers pay, not consumers – but it’s a potentially encouraging sign and an indication that egg prices could start to fall at grocery stores.

“Demand for shell eggs continues to fade into the new month as no significant outbreaks of HPAI have been detected in nearly two weeks. This respite has provided an opportunity for production to make progress in reducing recent shell egg shortages,” the USDA said in its Egg Markets Overview report.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took credit for falling egg prices.

“We got it down, we did a lot of things. We have a great Secretary of Agriculture, and we did a lot of things that got the cost of eggs down, very substantially,” the president said from the oval office Wednesday.

But consumers are still paying elevated prices at the grocery store. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last month announced a plan to invest $1 billion in strategies to rein in soaring egg prices but acknowledged in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that it “won’t erase the problem overnight.” She said the egg market won’t stabilize for another “three to six months.”

So far, that prediction is playing out in the market.

“Egg prices are setting new records in 2025,” wrote Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation in a new report out Tuesday. “Some 12 million birds, mostly layers, were lost in February, bringing the total number of birds affected so far in 2025 to over 35 million and driving egg prices even higher.”

Egg prices were up 10.4% in February according to the Consumer Price Index released Wednesday. That’s better than the surge in January, when egg prices were up 15.2%. Year-over-year, egg prices increased 58.8% last month.

The avian flu has killed 127 million egg laying birds since 2022 – flocks that had to be culled, leading to egg shortages and higher prices.

The Trump administration’s plan to bring egg prices lower calls for an increase in biosecurity, a deployment of epidemiologists to work with egg producers, exploring new vaccines, as well as increasing egg imports. Mexico and Turkey are sending a combined 827,000 dozen eggs to offset short supply in the US, according to the USDA.

But egg prices are almost certainly about to rise again: Easter and Passover will bring a renewed demand for eggs, similar to demand seen during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah. Lighter demand for eggs in the weeks leading up to the spring holidays may give egg producers time to rebuild some of their stock, the USDA said in its report. But while that may help with supply, prices may still increase.

“We’re going into Easter season. This is always the highest price for eggs. We expect it to perhaps inch back up, but a good piece of news since we released our plan about a week and a half ago,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, pointing to the wholesale drop in egg prices.

And while Passover and EAster are later than usual this year – April 12 and April 20, respectively – those holidays also coincide with the spring migration.

“Egg farmers are closely watching spring migration of wild birds, recognizing that wild birds are a leading cause of the spread of this virus and pose a great and ongoing threat to egg-laying flocks,” said Emily Metz, President of the American Egg Board.

Intel said on Wednesday that it had appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO, as the chipmaker attempts to recover from a tumultuous four-year run under Pat Gelsinger. The stock jumped 12% in extended trading.

Tan was previously CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which makes software used by all the major chip designers, including Intel. He was an Intel board member but departed last year, citing other commitments.

Tan replaces interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus, who took over in December when former Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger was ousted. Tan is also rejoining Intel’s board.

The appointment closes a chaotic chapter in Intel’s history, as investors pressured the semiconductor company to cut costs and spin off businesses due to declining sales and an inability to crack the booming artificial intelligence market.

“In areas where we have momentum, we need to double down and extend our advantage,” Tan said in statement on Intel’s website. “In areas where we are behind the competition, we need to take calculated risks to disrupt and leapfrog. And in areas where our progress has been slower than expected, we need to find ways to pick up the pace.”

Tan becomes the fourth permanent CEO at Intel in seven years. Following Brian Krzanich’s resignation in 2018, after the revelations of an inappropriate relationship with an employee, Bob Swan took the helm in Jan. 2019. He departed two years later after Intel suffered numerous blows from competitors and chip delays. Swan was succeeded by Gelsinger in 2021.

Gelsinger took over with a bold plan to transform Intel’s business to manufacture chips for other companies in addition to its own, becoming a foundry. But Intel’s overall products revenue continued to decline, and investors fretted over the significant capital expenditures needed for such massive chip production, including constructing a $20 billion dollar factory complex in Ohio.

Last fall, after a disappointing earnings report, Intel appeared to be for sale, and reportedly drew interest from rival companies including Qualcomm. Analysts assessed the possibility of Intel spinning off its foundry division or selling its products division — including server and PC chips — to a rival.

In AI, Intel has gotten trounced by Nvidia , whose graphics processing units (GPUs) have become the chip of choice for developers over the past few years.

Frank Yeary, who assumed the role of interim executive chair during the CEO search, said in a press release that Tan has a “proven track record of creating shareholder value.”

“We are delighted to have Lip-Bu as our CEO as we work to accelerate our turnaround and capitalize on the significant growth opportunities ahead,” said Yeary, who is now returning to the independent chair position.

In January, Intel issued a weak forecast even as it beat on earnings and revenue. The company pointed to seasonality, economic conditions and competition, and said clients are digesting inventory. The prospect of tariffs was adding to the uncertainty, Zinsner said at the time.

Intel said that Zinsner will return to his previous role of CFO. Holthaus will remain in charge of Intel Products.

Intel was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in November and was replaced by Nvidia, reflecting the dramatic change of fortune in the semiconductor industry. Intel shares lost 60% of their value last year, while Nvidia’s stock price soared 171%. At Wednesday’s close, Intel’s market cap was $89.5 billion, less than one-thirtieth of Nvidia’s valuation.